Dissidia: Final Fantasy Preview

Expect to see some familiar faces

No Final Fantasy game would be complete, of course, without the summoning of big monsters, and here Dissidia doesn't disappoint. You have to find a Summoning Stone first though, which is a rare occurrence, but when you do, a quick press of the R and Circle buttons brings down the beasts from on high. In Dissidia they're more about buffing the statistics of your character than actually dealing damage. Final Fantasy stalwart Ifrit, for example, increases Bravery Points by one and a half times.

As with most PSP games, the camera seems to suffer from the handheld's lack of two analogue nubs. Here, the d-pad moves the camera and the nub controls character movement. If you don't fancy a bout of claw hand, you'll be using L to lock on, which works well. There's an impressive sense of verticality to the arenas, with walls to climb and platforms to perch on. You'll find retreating to regenerate Bravery Points a smart tactic, and conversely quickly chasing down opponents who do the same will be key to success.

While Dissidia might look like a straight up Dragonball Z clone, there's still a strong JRPG feel to proceedings. Story Mode, which includes plenty of quality CGI cutscenes, plays out like a game of chess, with a grid for you to move about before triggering battles. Here you have a number of Destiny Points that are consumed as you move about the grid. This value determines the stage bonus you get from defeating enemies. There's some strategy in plotting your path to the grid boss: do you want, for example, to spend Destiny Points chasing down that mystery item on the grid, or head straight for the boss? There's levelling up, character customisation and plenty of items to equip. Yes, Dissidia is a fighting game at its core, but it's still rooted firmly in its Final Fantasy foundations.

The fighting system is accessible and fun

Before you get to that point, however, there's a prologue/tutorial to work through. This teaches you the mechanics of the fighting system, as well as giving you a feel for character movement. Once completed (it takes about half an hour), all the characters become playable, and you're free to pick whoever you want to begin their Destiny Odyssey. All the Destiny Odysseys need to be worked through in order to fully complete the game. Thankfully that provides for hours of gaming: online play isn't supported, which means you'll no doubt be playing Dissidia alone a lot of the time.

If the idea of playing Dissidia feels a bit like Square Enix licking your face, it's probably because you're a Final Fantasy fanboy. The game is pure fan service. There is no effort to mask this fact. Indeed, it's being released to coincide with the 20 year anniversary of the series, and is perfectly fitting to mark the occasion. There are familiar locations – Cloud's Destiny Odyssey takes in the Core of the Northern Crater – and familiar music to enjoy. If you're a Final Fantasy fan, Dissidia is almost an essential purchase irrespective of its quality, simply because it brings together everything that's great about the series in a single game. When you win a fight you can't help but feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end as that classic victory parade music bursts out of the tinny PSP speakers.

That might be doing Dissidia a disservice, however. The game's fighting system will appeal to fighting game fans in an addictive, accessible way. There is depth to be found, and skill required to proceed – at level three the game's difficulty spikes quite considerably, with opponents blocking and countering smartly. But let's be honest: you're reading this because up to this point the idea of Cloud fighting Ultimecia or Squall fighting Gabranth has been the stuff of hazy dreams. No longer.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy is due out for the PSP this autumn.